Amina Qureshi | Gold Leaf

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Based around vintage inspirations, runway trending and the grind of daily life...

Those of us living in Montreal are lucky enough to have a delayed winter this year. I've extended my autumn wardrobe till now, which I'm absolutely delighted about. I'm in love with my own Jeffrey Campbell Lita shoes, which of course are the inspiration for this post. You wouldn't believe it unless you've tried on a pair, but these shoes are so incredibly comfortable...and stylish!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was just what I needed. Relaxation, some fine dining, some casual dining, and shopping. A perfect weekend before a hectic week ahead. (I'm also on the look out for some comfortable, classy red heels. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Preferably not Aldo!)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

One week till the big day: Hairdressers Against AIDS celebrates its tenth anniversary on Dec 1st.

Hi everybody, I hope your week is wrapping up nicely. For me, it's been a busy week but an equally rewarding one. Event preparations for Hairdressers Against AIDS are in their final stages and everything is set and ready to go. We've handpicked all the nitty gritty details from flowers and decor to exceptional catering.

We are thrilled to be having the participation of Toronto's notable media, bloggers, and hairstyling students. I'm looking forward to meeting you all on December 1st! An additional big thank you to FLARE for featuring this post about our initiative on their site.

As part of their campaign, the L'Oréal Foundation created this quiz on HIV/AIDS. For every person who takes the quiz on World AIDS Day (December 1st), there will be a donation made to Les Petits Bonheurs charity on behalf of L'Oréal. This association supports individuals who are HIV-positive or sick with AIDS and are in situations of great social and emotional isolation (because of the illness or having been rejected by their families, etc).

So really, by taking this quiz you're directly making a difference in somebody's life. And don't worry, I know what a busy time of year this is for all of you, so I will remind you again on December 1st.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

An intimate snapshot: Bedrooms of famous cultural icons from around the world.

1. Marina Abramovic put her minimalist Soho loft on the market for $3.5 million earlier this fall. If those walls could talk, imagine the performance art secrets they’d reveal

2. You can probably guess that Frank Sinatra’s favorite color was orange. Evidently, he thought it was the “happiest.”

3. The only thing that’s missing from this photo of Ernest Hemingway’s bedroom is one of the 40 polydactyl cats said to overrun the Key West property.

4. Most of Emily Dickinson’s work was done at a small writing table in her bedroom study. Pretty austere surroundings, wouldn’t you say?

5. Here, Patti Smith sits in her pal William S. Burroughs’ bedroom at The Bunker on the Bowery.

6. Who would have figured Woody Allen as a collector of 19th-century framed samplers?

7. You can’t make them out in this photo, but Truman Capote kept detective magazines on the bedside table in his Hamptons beach house.

8. According to his interior designer Jed Johnson, Andy Warhol liked to hide his jewelry in the canopy of this imposing Federal mahogany bed.

9. Palazzo Chupi, the very pink condo building that Julian Schnabel built on top of a former horse stable in the West Village, has been described as “an exploded Malibu Barbie house.” That description probably works for his bedroom, too.

10. Virginia Woolf apparently liked to have breakfast in bed before heading off to her writing room for the day. Leonard, of course, dutifully brought it to her.

11. Thanks to a few bright pops of color, William and Elaine de Kooning’s bedroom in their home in East Hampton comes across as cheerful rather than spartan.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

These days I have been devoting most of my working hours to organizing an event for World AIDS Day (Dec 1st) called Hairdressers Against AIDS – a joint collaboration between L'Oréal Professional Products Division and UNESCO. I'm delighted to be organizing an event which raises awareness for such an important cause. The campaign itself is absolutely phenomenal. From creative short films and a celebrity calendar to novel applications of viral information and social media.

In keeping with this years slogan of "Use Your Voice," our event in Toronto will be a seamless combination of all these different avenues of creativity and innovation, all with the hope of educating and raising awareness of HIV/AIDS in Canada.

A special BIG thank you to all the bloggers, students, media, and VIP that are making this happen! Looking forward to seeing you all on December 1st!

Stay tuned for Part II of my Hairdressers Against AIDS series: photos, videos, details, and surprises!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

An innovative and environmentally conscious attempt at building a forest in the sky.

Stefano Boeri, a Milan-based architecture studio has began construction on Bosco Verticale, a residential building in the heart of downtown Milan. The appeal? It's essentially a forest in the sky, adding green space to an overly industrialized urban center. I think creating biodiversity in metropolitan cities is an amazing idea and I'm sure we will be seeing more projects like this springing up in the near future.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Hi everyone! Wow, busy busy busy! This morning I had a photoshoot with Sarah Lazar for an exciting upcoming project that is in the works. I don't think I can divulge too many details right now because I don't want to lose the surprise element. But you should check out her website, she does some absolutely phenomenal graphic design work.

I'm going to keep today's post fairly short, and leave you with these pictures for inspiration. Have a lovely week!

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About Gold Leaf

Gold Leaf by Amina Qureshi is an accumulated collection of beautiful things, people, and places – everything from majestic interiors and architectural gems, to haute couture and cleverly designed objects. Some are easier to put into words, others best expressed through photos or videos. I hope to share these design and travel inspirations through the archives of this site.